Spring Fling: Hume-Fogg falls in A-AA soccer semis

MURFREESBORO – Hume-Fogg’s quest for a state soccer championship was thwarted by a Tornado Thursday night.

Alcoa’s Matt Franklin scored twice in the first 22 minutes as the Tornadoes, making their first appearance in the state tournament, held on to beat the Knights 2-0 in a state semifinal.

Hume-Fogg finished its season 18-6 and having made the third state tournament in school history. Alcoa (18-5-1) advanced to Saturday’s noon championship match against Christian Academy of Knoxville, a 3-0 winner over Station Camp.

“They finished the goals and we didn’t,” Hume-Fogg coach David Allen said. “I’m very proud of the team and thought we played better today than we did (in a state quarterfinal win), but unfortunately, they had the goals and we didn’t.”

Franklin scored in the ninth minute to give the Tornadoes the lead, but it was the second goal that was critical. Having just re-entered the match, he was right in front of the goal after Knights’ goalie Hunter Allen was forced out of position after making an initial save.

“I felt if we could have got a goal, we could have put some pressure on them,” Allen said. “But that second goal really gave them momentum.”

Hume-Fogg didn’t quit and had a couple of runs at the goal in the second half. According to the TSSAA statistician, Alcoa finished with a 16-9 advantage in shots, including 7-2 in the second half.

“We showed a lot of heart tonight,” Allen said. “We have a good group of seniors and we played hard – we just didn’t get the goals and we did. All the applause goes to Alcoa.”

Alcoa’s record might have been even better than the sheer numbers, with losses to Class AAA powers Maryville, Farragut and Bearden. The Tornadoes went through their district schedule unbeaten, losing to CAK in the region title game before beating Elizabethton 4-1.

Alcoa beat Chattanooga Christian 2-1 in Wednesday’s quarterfinal.

Hume-Fogg had won 11 of 12, surrendering only four goals in that stretch. The Knights, who rolled past Middle Tennessee Christian 6-0 in the sectional, topped University School of Jackson 1-0 in a quarterfinal.